University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Defeats Chaminade at Maui Invitational, 77-61
11/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) (Nov. 21, 2000) -- With Johnnie Selvie getting 18 points and nine rebounds, the Huskies bounced back from their opening-round loss to Dayton with a 77-61 victory over Chaminade.
"It was really tough today because we didn't play particularly well yesterday," said Albert Mouring, who led Connecticut with 20 points against Chaminade. "Playing a Division II team, it was hard to get up for the game but our guys came out focused and ready to play.
The Huskies (2-1) will play Louisville for fifth place on Wednesday. Louisville beat UNLV 86-85 in overtime on Tuesday.
The Chaminade game was Connecticut's last without starters Caron Butler and Souleymane Wane. The 6-foot-11 Wane will definitely return Wednesday but Butler's status was still up in the air as the freshman swingman recovers from a sprained ankle.
"Time will tell about the addition of Caron and Souleymane," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said."I know Souleymane will give us legitimate size in the paint and we need that. We're not defending in the post and we're not playing with confidence. We haven't played like a good team and we should be because we are a good team."
Connecticut closed the first half with a 12-4 run to take a 42-29 lead and Chaminade (0-2) was never closer than 11 points in the second half.
Freshman point guard Taliek Brown had nine points and nine assists for the Huskies, but was just 1 for 8 from the free-throw line and is 4 for 20 for the season.
"He shot really well in the preseason but he's gone back to his high-school dip," Calhoun said. "He'll make some big foul shots to win games for us, I really believe that."
The Huskies, led by Selvie's 8-for-11, shot 57 percent from the field (31 for 54), a significant improvement from the 39 percent in the loss to Dayton.
Robert Watson had 20 points and C.J. Cowgill added 18 for the Silverswords, who lost for the 23rd consecutive time in the tournament they serve as host. They lost 97-57 to Arizona in the opening round.
"This was a tough game for UConn," first-year Chaminade coach Aaron Greiss said. "They were coming off a tough loss and playing a Division II team in a game they didn't want to play. For our kids everybody we play in this tournament is a game we get pumped up for. Our kids played very hard and with enthusiasm and if we didn't, we would have lost by 40 again."
The Silverswords are 3-45 overall in the 17-year-old event and their last victory was in the seventh-place game in 1992, a 71-63 double-overtime win over Stanford.
